WELL; Really? The Claim: Your heart skips a beat when you sneeze.

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

Published: August 14, 2012

THE FACTSSome old wives' tales contain only a kernel of truth, if any. But the one about your heart skipping a beat during a sneeze is not completely unfounded.

Just before sneezing, most people take a deep breath. This increases pressure in the chest and briefly inhibits the flow of blood to the heart, which can lower blood pressure and increase the heart rate. But as you exhale, your blood pressure increases and heart rate, in turn, goes down.At the same time, sneezing stimulates the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain through the abdomen. In general, any time the vagus nerve is stimulated, the body's response is to reduce the heart rate. The effect of this is minimal, however, slowing the heart perhaps only a single beat.

This phenomenon is not unique to sneezing, said Dr. Christopher Magovern, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. Coughing, gagging and other acts can have a similar effect on the vagus nerve.

"There's nothing special about the sneeze," he said. "It's almost like a cough through your nose. It increases vagal tone, and that stimulation causes your brain to program your heart to slow down. Your heart can slow down, skip a beat, or stop momentarily. But it resumes."

For most people this goes unnoticed. But in extremely rare cases, sneezing can slow the heart rate or lower blood pressure to such an extent that it causes a person to pass out. In the medical literature, this is known as sneeze syncope. Some people may also have an exaggerated response to a sneeze or cough if they have a congenital heart abnormality, Dr. Magovern said, or if they are taking medications affect their heart rate, like beta blockers.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Sneezing can slow heart rate, but the effect is minimal.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.